This invention relates to translating user interfaces for software products from one human language to another.
The user interface is a key component of many software products. The user interface provides a convenient and friendly way for users to interact with the software product. A user interface is commonly developed to use a single language, such as English, when interacting with a user. A significant aspect of adapting a software product for sale in other countries is the translation of the user interface to the language of that country. This process is often referred to as “localization.”
In general, localization includes activities such as resizing user interface elements, customizing features, and translating the strings presented to the user by the interface from one human language to another. For example, where the user interface of the English-language product presents the string “New Layer Set,” the user interface of the corresponding French-language product might present “Nouveau Groupe de Calques.”
Converting all of the strings in the user interface of a product from one language to another can be an expensive and time-consuming manual task.